Category: Entrepreneurship

In recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week coming up on the 18th and the 24th of November, we have found a few great opportunities to develop your entrepreneurial skills, presentation and team working skills that will prepare young people for the future.

Annual Dragon’s Den Challenge 2019This exhilarating workshop gives young people aged 11-16 a taste of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. The workshop is based on the world-famous TV Show and will involve them coming up with a business idea and pitching it to a judging panel. Young people joining in on the fun will gain hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and will develop their team working, presentation and time management skills. This year’s event will take place on Saturday 23rd November at Goldsmiths University in New Cross from 10am – 4pm. Tickets for this event are released in phases via the waiting list so be on the lookout for our next release of tickets. Please follow this link for more information.Engineer Your FutureIf you have an interest or the ability to be a big-thinker, a problem solver and someone who has a passion to change the world with innovative ideas, then the Science Museum on Exhibition Road is a great place to visit this coming week. Entrance is free and is suitable for young people aged 11 to 15 years. There are many exciting activities to keep you entertained and learn all about Engineering, from designing your own space rover to playing various games to enhance those scientific skills. The Science Museum is open daily from 10am. For more information click here.

The 2019 Language ShowEurope’s largest annual language show has returned to Olympia for its 31st year with a variety of free talks, taster classes in many different languages and exhibitors who will share tools on the best way to learn new languages. This workshop will help young people interested in language develop the skills to help find the best career path for them. This event is free for all young people under the age of 17 and registration is only required for those above this age. The event starts at 10am every day and runs from today 15th November to Sunday 17th November at Olympia London on Hammersmith Road, London. To find out more about this yearly event click here.

There are so many entrepreneurs in the world that offer a wealth of inspiration to young people. From Richard Branson to Bill Gates to Oprah Winfrey, the success stories of entrepreneurs can be inspiring and motivating, which can help young people to achieve their goals.

Beyond inspiration, learning about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship offers valuable skill-building opportunities and life lessons. Here are just a few of the many reasons why entrepreneurship should be included in the curriculum.

ConfidenceTaking a business idea and turning it into a profitable enterprise takes far more than just hard work. Entrepreneurs have to believe in their idea so that they can convince others that it will work and also keep themselves motivated. If an entrepreneur does not believe in their own idea, no one else will either. This self-belief takes a whole lot of confidence and self-motivation. Entrepreneurship can instil confidence in young people, teaching them how to be self-reliant, resilient and motivated. Confidence will also prepare them for any challenges they may face and also keep them going when things change such as moving from school to university.

PassionPaired with confidence, passion is one of the most important traits an entrepreneur must possess. A business leader’s passion can convince top employees to join a company or convince investors to invest in their business. Passion is also important when convincing clients to try a product or service. Entrepreneurship offers a dynamic and interactive way to engage students, cultivate their interests, and open potential academic or career paths that they might not have known about or considered before. Lessons in entrepreneurship can expose them to a variety of topics, sparking their interest and helping them discover and develop their passions and future aspirations.

ResourcefulnessEntrepreneurs continually seek ways to improvetheir products, services, and businesses, even in the face of significant challenges such as budget constraints, time crunches, and small teams. In these situations, they have to use their resourcefulness and quick thinking to ensure success. Entrepreneurship can be used as a tool to teach young people how to use the resources they have at their disposal to make an idea or plan work. Lessons in entrepreneurship can also be individually tailored to help young people to use fewer resources, develop new resources or think out of the box to solve a business challenge. Resourcefulness will teach young people to think fast, come up with innovative solutions to problems, and to be resilient.

Social SkillsFrom networking to nurturing relationships with customers or investors, entrepreneurs need social skills to help accelerate the development of their company. Social skills will help young people with their interpersonal relations, social interactions and leadership skills. This will always be valuable since interacting with people is something they will always encounter at university or in the workplace. Having good social skills also means that you will be a better leader which will help you to be more successful.

TeamworkEntrepreneurship teaches young people about the value of collaboration and teamwork and how important it is to work with others to reach a specific goal. In every stage of life, from school to university to the workplace, young people will have to work with other people, so it is important for them to start building their teamwork skills as soon as possible. This will make them more effective in teams which can also make them stand out as leaders and thought leaders.

Financial EducationEntrepreneurship is a useful tool that can be used to educate young people about important financial topics. These topics will give them the necessary skills to become successful adults. Some topics that can be taught through entrepreneurship include budgeting and saving, how to avoid or handle debt, and understanding taxes and insurance. This will equip young people with the skills and knowledge that will need to deal with various things in their daily life – from student loans to life insurance.

As you can see, including entrepreneurship in the school curriculum offers an impactful way to teach young people many important skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

Entrepreneurship activities can also be found in after-school programmes such as the GT Scholars Dragon’s Den Challenge. This annual workshop takes place during Global Entrepreneurship Week and is based on the world-famous TV show. This gives young people a taste of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, and it involves them coming up with a business idea in a specific amount of time and pitching it to a judging panel. This will provide them with hands-on experience in entrepreneurship while teaching them simple business principles, teamwork, presentation skills, and effective time management.

GT Scholars is a not-for-profit social enterprise and registered charity. We run after-school and weekend programmes that help young people achieve their academic and career aspirations. Our programmes include tutoring, mentoring and enrichment sessions for young people aged 11-18. Contact us if you would like to know more about any of our programmes and courses.

Did you know that fun activities can help young people identify their skills, strengths and what career they would like to pursue? They often don’t know if they’re interested in something unless they try it out. That is why this week, we have three great activities for young people to explore future careers!

Dragon’s Den ChallengeIn order to give young people a taste of what it takes to be an entrepreneur, GT Scholars are hosting a Dragon’s Den Challenge based on the world-famous TV show. This FREE event for young people aged 11-16 explores the concept of entrepreneurship while imparting practical skills such as being creative, negotiating, communicating well and critical thinking. Book your tickets here.

Family Masterclass at the The Royal InstitutionThe Royal Institution is hosting a hands-on engineering workshop for families to design and construct a shelter. This workshop uses a hand operated STIXX machine will turn six sheets of newspaper into a solid structural rod which can be used to build your shelter. This will be a great test of the entire family’s engineering skills, design and creativity. To book tickets, click here.

TheatreCraftTheatreCraft is a free careers event for young people aged 16-30 seeking an off-stage career in theatre. It is an ideal place to be for a unique glimpse into ‘behind the scenes’ careers like direction, stage management, producing, lighting and even designing. Theatre professionals will be on hand to provide tips and advice to young people considering this career path. To find out more, click here.

GT Scholars is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity. We run after-school and weekend programmes that help young people achieve their academic and career aspirations. Our programmes include tutoring, mentoring and enrichment sessions for young people aged 11-18. Contact us if you would like to know more about any of our programmes and courses.

The importance of entrepreneurship in the economy cannot be stressed enough. It also goes hand in hand with innovation, which will be non-existent if not for entrepreneurship. The benefit of having a generation that stands for the alleviation of bigotry, oppression and inequality, comes with the responsibility of being more accommodating and progressive as a society. This means that as a society we should be mentoring young people and informing them of all the available study and career options, so they can make an informed decision. Living in a world driven by technology, young people can access information on demand and reach a huge audience if they had the need to. Entrepreneurship is a viable career option for young people to consider.

Entrepreneurship Boosts the Local EconomyEconomic development is powered by entrepreneurship. A weak economy can be improved by encouraging entrepreneurship. It is also a great aid to lower the unemployment rate and allows income to be circulated within communities, in turn, empowering those communities. It has a positive effect on the development of communities and changes the social structure of a community. A stronger economy will enable more people to become homeowners, improve the quality education young people receive. The overall quality of living standards will also improve. Furthermore, entrepreneurship can provide services and products that were not accessible in the past, creating wealth for the community as well as themselves.

Teaching entrepreneurial skills to young peopleEntrepreneurship as a subject is the perfect balance between problem solving, creative thinking and business studies. The world is in need of graduates who are open-minded in approaching problems and who can come up with innovative solutions. Most importantly they must be able to take charge when it comes to putting their ideas into action. Most schools focus on traditional career choices when informing children of the various options. Entrepreneurship should in fact also be seen as a popular career choice, just like being a doctor, lawyer, teachers and architects.

Nurturing entrepreneurial traitsGreat problem-solving skills is one trait that no entrepreneur can go without. Teaching young people entrepreneurship will develop their problem-solving skills. They learn to identify problems, discussing it and then try to come up with solutions. They learn to consider whether their solution will be viable by weighing up the pros and cons of the situation, but most importantly it teaches young people to make decisions and be proactive about them. You can develop your child’s problem-solving skills by creating mock examples of typical client vs supplier problems and discussing possible solutions and consequences.

Determination Another must have entrepreneurial trait is determination. This is one of the key factors that make an entrepreneur successful. More often than not, entrepreneurs are faced with a lot of setbacks. Success comes from not giving up hope when setback after setback is experienced. Young people will learn that hard work will eventually pay off and it will also teach them not to take the easy way out when they find something difficult, but rather persevere and put in extra effort to be successful. A great way to help your child be more determined is to set challenging but reachable goals and act as a mentor that encourages them to reach their goals.

Managerial skills are importantAllow your child to become involved in organising fun days and events within the community. This will create an opportunity to work alongside group leaders, be present at team meetings and gain valuable managerial skills. By becoming involved in such an event, young people can also learn how to manage responsibility and possibly delegate. Most importantly assisting at events will give young people perspective on their strengths and also their weaknesses helping them to identify the areas they can improve on. It will also introduce the idea of making an income by the means of sales.

Money SmartBeing smart about your finances is another important entrepreneurial trait that can be taught to young people. It would be ideal if every learner can learn how to manage money. Learning basic accounting and bookkeeping skills is beneficial for learners because it can be beneficial to them not only in their future entrepreneurial endeavours but they can also manage their own personal finances better. Apart from accounting in school, young people can be motivated to save part of their allowance. Assist your child in creating a budget that makes provision for saving. A challenge to double his savings can also be introduced, for example, buying stock and selling it at a profit.

The importance of good language useMany entrepreneurs have mastered the art of good language use. How a potential sale is approached and handled can either make or break the deal. The way we address a certain problem or deal with a difficult customer can influence your business reputation in a positive or negative way. It is not only important to be aware of what we say to people but also how we say it. Teaching young people to communicate with people who are different in age and cultural backgrounds will help learners be more effective in their communities and may contribute to career and business success in the future. This skill is also important for assertiveness and being an effective leader.

To be an entrepreneur one must also be a leader. You can motivate and inspire your child to become a good leader by being a role model. There are also various fun team activities that young people can participate in. This will also teach them the value of teamwork and give them the opportunity to rise as a leader and deal with possible conflict that might arise.

The GT Scholars Programme is a not-for-profit social enterprise that tackles educational inequality and improves social mobility by helping young people aged 11-16 gain access to the most selective universities and the most competitive careers. Our tutoring, mentoring and enrichment programme is designed to give young people the support, skills and strategies they need to achieve their ambitions. Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with events and oppertunities specially focused on young people.